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Monday, December 7, 2009

Decoupaged Vintage Ornaments: A Gift For The Girls

A GIFT FOR THE GIRLS. The Bunco Girls. All 12 of them!!

Here is what I have been working on in my spare time lately. ;) I am planning to give one of these ornaments as a Christmas surprise to each of the “girls” in my Bunco group. Our big end of the year Bunco Christmas Party is later this month but I wanted to get these finished beforehand. Bunco is another one of those things that I was introduced to when I moved to the South. If you are not familiar with Bunco it is a dice game. It’s pretty mindless and easy to play while chatting, eating treats, and enjoying a cocktail. :)

There are 12 of us in our Bunco group and I think that only one of my Bunco girlfriends knows that I blog so I feel pretty safe showing these to you. I want them to be a surprise and I am hoping that this post slips by the one member of my group who does read my blog!

BUNCO: THE EARLY YEARS

The idea came to me when I first saw this vintage photo somewhere online and loved how all the girls in it looked. When I counted and saw that there were 12 girls in the photo, the idea hit me to do something with it for Bunco since there are 12 of us in our group. I decided on putting “Bunco: The Early Years” on each ornament and then had fun deciding which “Bunco Babe” got to be which“Vintage Babe” in the photo. :)

Supplies Needed:

Canning jar lids and rings: (use wide mouth lids and rings for larger ornaments and pint sized lid and rings for smaller ornaments) I needed to use the Wide Mouth larger sized lid and rings because I had a lot of names to fit on the photo of the 12 vintage ladies. ( A box of 12 cost me $4.99)

PHOTOCOPIED image: if you use words…photocopy them too!!!!! Now is a good time to use your jar lid as a gauge for how large your image needs to be. Make sure it is going to fit in the size of your jar lid. You do not want your image to be too large or too small.

Mod Podge: (I used the original Mod Podge…I experimented with the extra glossy formula but I did not like it…looked too thick to me.)

small paint brush

Tacky Glue

Red ribbon for the hanger: ( I also added a red/white striped ribbon around the edge of each ornament)

Sharpie Permanent Ink Pens: (I used a red sharpie to write Merry Christmas 2009 on the back of each ornament and used a green Sharpie to draw some holly leaves)

First I found a vintage photo that I liked and I printed it out. Then I had it photo copied as many times as I needed for the number of ornaments I wanted to make. This is an important step because if you try to decoupage the image from your home computer the ink with run, and change colors and looks terrible. Trust me, I learned this the hard way! (If you want to use words in your project…photo copy them too!!)

Step 1: Take your photo copied image and use a jar lid to trace a circle around your image so that it fits perfectly in your finished ornament. Cut the circle of your image out and set aside. Now is a good time to cut out your “words”. I cut each word out individually which made it easier for placement. (Now is also a good time to assemble your ornament as a “test” ornament to make sure everything is going to fit and to get an idea of how your finished ornament will look.)

Step 3: Spray paint the the back side of your ornament. Let dry. Turn over and spray paint the front side. This step may require a couple of coats.

Step 4: Decoupage the image to the lid and ring set. Start by painting the Mod Podge to the inside of your ring and then paint the back side of your circle and place it in your ornament. Then finish with a coat of Mod Podge directly on the image and make sure it is completely sealed and there are no air bubbles.

Step 5: Now you can start decoupaging your words on the ornament. Use the same 3 step process, Mod Podge the ornament, Mod Podge the back of the words, then give a coat over the top to seal. Let dry.

Step 6: Cut a length of ribbon to wrap around the edge of your ornament allowing extra a the top if you want to make a bow.

Step 7: Apply Tacky Glue around the outer side edge of the ornament and wrap the ribbon around the ornament. (I did not tie a bow on mine). Add any other embellishments you might like at this time.

Step 8: Sign the back, add a special message and don’t forget to put the date on it! I used a red and green Sharpie Permanent Ink Pen for this.

Step 9: Cut a length of thin ribbon for your hanger. Loop it, dab on some Tacky Glue to join it together and then add a drop of Tacky Glue to the to outer edge on the back to adhere the ribbon hanger to your ornament. Let dry completely before you try to hang it.

And here are the 12 sweet Vintage Bunco Babes on the front side….

And here are the backsides with a Merry Christmas Wish for 2009.

I can’t wait for our Christmas Bunco Party so that I can give these out just like Santa!

Oh I love this! Your friends will treasure their gifts for many years. :o)Sincerely ~ Tricia AnnePs. I am in a quilting club and made 20 key chains (they are posted on my blog) in my spare time too! ;o)

Hey, Lisa, I'm a Bunco Chick too! Our group does an annual C'mas dinner/Secret Santa Exchange as well . . . going on 4 years now. Even though we draw names, I still make a little something for all the girls. I'm doing ornaments again this year. Yours are great! Love the idea! Wish I'd thought of it ;o)

Those are just about the most thoughtful and touching ornaments ever. The fact that you took the time to make such a keepsake for special friends will never be forgotten. Cheers to you on this day for creating something so very special. HugsKate